The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Ms Chan Hoi Fan, said on Monday (18 March) that it was expected an agreement between Macao and Portugal on the surrender of fugitives wanted by one or other of the two jurisdictions would be signed this year. Issues regarding the surrender of sentenced persons from Macao to mainland China and vice versa are still being negotiated.
Ms Chan made the comments to the media at a public event on Monday morning. She said that a delegation of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government had previously started negotiations with the Portuguese government regarding an agreement on the surrender of fugitives, and a consensus was achieved, with an agreement initialled. Each side was currently working internally on procedures required for the official signing of the agreement, she added.
According to the Secretary, the Government would strive to expedite the process, and anticipated the agreement could be signed this year. Regarding an agreement between Macao and mainland China on the surrender of sentenced persons, more time was required for preparing the initial negotiation, she noted.
When asked about her recent participation in a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Ms Chan said that the Council had not made many suggestions regarding Macao. As always the Macao SAR Government was greatly interested in human rights, and would continue perfecting related legislation. For example, the recent announcements regarding the Legal System for Protection of Rights of the Elderly and the provision of tax concessions to employers who hire people with disabilities; as well as the continued optimisation of the social security system, were evidence of the Government’s commitment to the protection of human rights. The process of reviewing and improving these systems would continue, said Ms Chan.
Regarding protection of the rights of migrant workers, Ms Chan said that after considering Macao’s overall social environment and comparing the laws and regulations governing migrant workers and local labour, the Government believed that the appropriate conditions were not in place with regard to applying The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. She affirmed that the Law on Employment of Non-Resident Workers in force in Macao, together with other measures on protection of basic human rights, were sufficient to ensure all people were equal before the law.